As Chris Grosser has said, “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” If you want to achieve something, do not wait for things to be aligned, perform your task/duty for things to fall in your path. Take the story of Kavneet Singh from Ludhiana as an example who despite having a regular job at hand, worked hard to secure a place for himself in the prestigious corridors of IIM Ahmedabad. His energy and ambition helped him earn Capital First Scholarship 2018-20 which further boosted his career dreams.

Read Kavneet’s story to celebrate his success and get inspired by his determination to accomplish career goals. Excerpts from his interview with Buddy4Study:

Buddy4Study: Tell us about your academic and professional background before joining this management programme.

Kavneet: I passed class 10 and 12 from CBSE with CGPA 9.6 and 91% marks, respectively. I pursued my graduation in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab Technical University with 76.02% marks. After graduating, I joined Thermax Limited where I worked for about 7 months.

Buddy4Study: What drove you towards the pursuit of an MBA course?

Kavneet: After graduation, I started working in a company. It wasn’t long before I realised the importance of management in an organisation. Experience taught me that good management can bring success even when the odds are not in one’s favour. This strengthened my inclination towards management and hence, I finally decided to go ahead with the preparation for MBA entrance and crack CAT (Common Admission Test) in order to pursue my dream of studying an MBA course from one of the most prestigious institutions.

Buddy4Study: What were the key challenges you faced while preparing for your MBA admissions?

Kavneet: Since I was working while preparing for MBA admissions, it was really a huge challenge to manage my time so that my MBA preparation and work do not clash with each other. The MBA preparation in itself was the first MBA lesson. Other than that, occasional low mock scores, inability to grasp a few concepts, etc., were some of the problems I faced during the preparation phase. But, what matters the most is to never lose hope and keep moving forward with it.

Buddy4Study: What has been your source of inspiration?

Kavneet: I realised pretty early that to fulfill the dream of being in the top managerial position of an organisation, education is the only way to expedite the process. Seeing efficient young managers in my previous workplace really inspired me to focus on my dreams.

Buddy4Study: Despite the financial constraints, you decided to pursue an MBA course. How did your parents react when you told them about your ambitions?

Kavneet: I cannot thank my parents enough that they never asked me to drop the idea of pursuing an MBA despite financial constraint. My father wanted me to pursue whatever I wanted. Both my parents gave me their complete support. They told me to just focus on getting into a good institution without worrying for the money. It will be managed one way or the other.

Buddy4Study: How did you come to know about the Capital First Scholarship? What was the process you followed to avail the scholarship?

Kavneet: I came to know about Capital First Scholarship from a mail sent out by the General Secretary of IIMA. The procedure to apply for the scholarship was really simple. I followed the link mentioned in the mail and there was an entire guideline on how to fill in the information. After filling in the information, I submitted the form. Further rounds included some more information and a telephonic interview. The process was really smooth and not at all time consuming, considering time is a luxury at a B-school.

Buddy4Study: You grabbed a seat in IIM Ahmedabad. Which other B-schools did you qualify for?

Kavneet: For now, my goal is to do my best at IIM Ahmedabad and learn as much as possible not only from the taught subjects and professors but also from my peers. In future, I want to focus on getting the best out of my internship experience. I also want to try out the classroom concepts in real life. Post that, I will focus on getting into a reputed organisation where I can continue to learn from the best business minds.

Buddy4Study: What advice would you give to the young ones who face various challenges towards pursuing higher education?

Kavneet: My advice to all would be – it is very easy to lose hope in the process of going ahead with the MBA preparation, it’s easy to lower your target from a top tier institute to a lower tier institute, and it’s easy to focus on all the things wrong with your profile or with your scores. All I can say from my personal experience is that don’t let these things get to you. Be honest with yourself. Just focus, work hard and believe in yourself! And trust me, you will surprise yourself as I did!